The Day After
by Fox Kitsune
Summary: "Last night was a mistake," she insisted. But it hadn't been to Ulrich, no matter how things had happened. He just needed her to understand that. (Y/U)


_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

 _Author's Note: Wow…I don't even want to think about how long it's been… Too long. Sorry guys! I've been writing a lot lately, but mostly working on my book that maybe one day will be finished! I was driving home from work today and got this random little idea for a fic from listening to country music. CL gang is in college here. Enjoy!_

 _P.S. I wouldn't consider this "mature" content, but some viewers may. Please be aware that it does deal with more adult things than my typical CL fics.(Unless you count OtVoLG)_

The Day After

Ulrich was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. There was no way Yumi Ishiyama, THE Yumi Ishiyama, was really lying beside him in bed. Her back was to him, but Ulrich couldn't tear his eyes away from her soft skin, the curve of her back and the way her dark hair fell across her shoulders. Still short, just like she had always worn it.

His heart thudded in his chest, so loudly he was surprised it didn't wake up Yumi, as he thought about last night. It was hard to remember every detail between the slight pounding in his head and the hazy, liquor-induced state he had been in, but he remembered her, and that was good enough for him.

She stirred in her sleep, rolling over just enough that her hair fell across part of her face. He could see the curve of her body beneath the thin sheet; the heat rose to his cheeks. He seriously had to be dreaming.

The beautiful Asian girl beside him stirred again. This time, her eyes flickered open. Her groggy, half-closed brown orbs quickly grew as she took in Ulrich beside her, shirtless. And probably bottom-less…

"Oh shit," she muttered, loud enough for the German boy to hear. He flushed. It wasn't the reaction he had been hoping for.

"Shit?" he questioned, trying to keep the hurt from his voice.

She rolled over, hanging off the side of the bed, the sheet wrapped around her as much as possible, and reached for her clothes. "Cover your eyes; I'm getting dressed!"

The shock from the entire exchange had Ulrich obeying in a silent, confused stupor. Shit…? Why did she react like that? Last night had been, without a doubt, the single greatest experience in his entire life.

What if she didn't feel the same way? The question shot through him like ice through his veins. Sure, they hadn't seen each other in two years—Yumi had gone off to university while Ulrich had stayed near Kadic to attend a junior college. Still, it hadn't mattered that he hadn't seen Yumi in two years. The moment he saw her and Aelita walk into Odd's party, all of his old feelings came rushing back, threatening to completely overtake him.

He heard Yumi's labored breathing and soft grunts as she pulled on her clothes, probably a bit too quickly from the sound of things. Once he heard the jangle of her keys, he risked peeking. She was dressed.

"Are you leaving?" he asked stupidly. She was carrying her purse and jacket.

"I have to go," she answered quickly, practically cutting off the end of his question. "Bye."

Even if he was able to form words, she didn't give him the chance. She ran to the door and slammed it shut behind her.

X

Hours later, once Ulrich had finally convinced himself to roll out of bed (mostly because his hangover was becoming increasingly more aggressive, and he needed medicine) and shower (Yumi's scent still lingering on him, he noticed gleefully), he headed downstairs in search of medicine (and Yumi, though he was terrified to face her after their exchange this morning).

She was staying with Sam, Odd's old girlfriend who also lived on campus. Hopefully, she was still there. The way she had run from his room earlier, she could've been halfway to Italy by now… He headed down the long corridor that led outside, then cut across the quad to get to the girls' building.

"Hey, Ulrich!"

 _Seriously, Odd. Could you have picked a worse time?_ Ulrich though irritably. At this rate, he would never find Yumi, and he really, really needed to talk to her.

"Wait up!" his best friend called again. He could hear the quick footfalls of Odd running after him.

 _Better just talk to him now_. Ulrich turned. Odd had a huge, cheesy smiled plastered across his face.

"How was last night? Hmmm? I saw you leave the party with Yumi!"

Odd was desperate for details that Ulrich himself didn't even have. He wanted to say, "Last night was incredible!" because, it had been. But the look on Yumi's face this morning practically destroyed any glee he felt about last night.

"I…I don't really want to talk about it. I need to find Yumi. Have you seen her?"

Odd's face fell. He caught on quickly enough. "Oh, man. Sorry… I think she's in Sam's room still. Want me to go with you?"

But the brown-haired boy was already running toward the girls' dormitory. If only he and Yumi could talk, he was sure that they could understand each other. The idea of Yumi regretting last night made his entire insides sink.

He ran into Sam, literally, as she was leaving the room. "Oh, sorry!" he muttered, helping her up.

"Yumi doesn't want to see you," she replied curtly, smoothing out her dress as she stood. "I'm sorry. Really. But you should respect that."

"I…Did she talk to you?"

Sam looked crestfallen. He loved his friends, truly, but he was getting tired of all their pitying glances this morning.

"Erm…sorta. She told me not to ask about it, and that she didn't want to see you. That's all."

Ulrich chewed his lip. He wanted to respect Yumi's wishes, but he couldn't let her slip away again. Especially not after last night. "Sorry, Sam, but I really need to talk to her."

She shrugged."Figured. Don't tell her you saw me though."

Ulrich took a second to watch her walk away, suddenly terrified to face the girl he had been in love with for years… could he really face rejection twice in one day?

For Yumi he could, he decided. For Yumi he could do a lot of things he never thought possible.

He turned, his hand lingering on the doorknob. He should knock, he realized, but she probably wouldn't let him in. But he couldn't just barge in. His other hand knocked lightly and he said, "Yumi, it's me. I'm coming in." And, before he could talk himself out of it, he opened the door.

Yumi was sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow. Her shirt was on backwards, he realized, from her rushed attempt to get dressed, and her hair was still sticking up a bit in the back. She had never, ever, looked more beautiful though.

"In case it wasn't obvious this morning," she muttered, her voice wavering between anger and sadness, "I don't really want to see you."

"Well, I want to see you," he answered with more courage than he felt.

"There's nothing to talk about. It was a drunken one-night stand. It will never happen again."

The words tore the little bit of his heart that hadn't completely broken when she shut the door on him this morning. "I don't feel that way Yumi…and I really hope you don't either."

She wouldn't look at him. She stared down at the pillow in her lap. She opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it instead.

This was his chance. He needed to get his words out. "Yumi, last night was the greatest night of my life. Sure, it wasn't exactly how I imagined my first time, but it was with you, and that's really, truly, the only thing that matters." The words were coming out too quickly, but he feared stopping and losing his nerve. He had to finish. "Yumi…I love you. I always have. And…I think you love me too. Because it sure felt like you do. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way, but I'm not sorry it happened. Not at all."

"Well, I am," she whispered, her voice so quiet he could scarcely hear her. "Last . ." She drug the words out, her voice rising a little with every word she said. "A mistake, okay?" she repeated, but Ulrich could hear her voice catching, see the tears building up that she was so desperate to hold back.

He wanted to argue, to fight for her, but he felt himself crumple at her words. A mistake. A mistake. He was a mistake to her. The best thing to ever happen to him was someone else's mistake.

"Yeah, well, not to me," he retorted, ice penetrating his voice in his attempt to not completely fall apart in front of her. "Not to me."

X

The day after the greatest night of Ulrich's life was the worst day of his life. He couldn't concentrate on anything, not even moping, because his mind was whirling. Where had they gone wrong? Sure, he hadn't seen Yumi in two years, but they still talked, and, at graduation, the day Yumi left Kadic, she confessed how special Ulrich had always been to her. She didn't say the word "love" exactly, but Ulrich got the meaning well enough.

Still, he didn't want his friendship with Yumi to be compromised over one drunken (albeit amazing) night. But he couldn't talk to her. Not now.

For a while, Ulrich sat in his dorm room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. The sheets were still crumpled from Yumi…he couldn't get her out of his mind. The way her lips felt against his, the curves of her body, the way she looked at him… Sure, they had been drinking, but the way she had looked at him…it had to mean something, didn't it?

Ulrich heard footsteps outside his door, then the sounds of a key in the lock. Odd was back. Could Ulrich really deal with seeing anyone right now? Still, it was Odd's room too. Ulrich rolled over, careful to not disturb Yumi's side of the bed, so that his back was to the door. Maybe he could feign sleep…

"Ulrich? It's me," came a voice that was very much not Odd's.

He turned. Yumi was standing before him, Odd's room key in her shaking hand. "I let myself in…"

He wanted to say something mean, a snide remark about how she was returning to her mistake, but the look of her standing there before him, hair now smoothed out and clothes on properly, an embarrassed smile on her face, Ulrich couldn't bring himself to say anything at all.

"Listen," she started, afraid he would interrupt her but obviously not realizing that Ulrich had suddenly lost his ability to speak. "I'm sorry. I…I was scared. I still am. Last night was…a big step. And you're right, it's not how I imagined my first time either." She was stumbling over her words a bit. "But…I'm glad it was with you. Because I know you love me. You always have. I didn't mean to hurt you, but…this is crazy."

"Crazy?" he asked, mind reeling. "How?"

She sighed, eyes darting towards the ceiling. She suddenly looked more like the Yumi he'd always known. "I go to school a hundred miles away, Ulrich. Sure, we flirted and stuff at Kadic, but we haven't really seen much of each other since then. And the first thing we do is jump into bed…"

"I think the alcohol came first," he muttered, unable to stop himself.

"I'm being serious. We're adults now, Ulrich…"

He stood up, walking over to her. He was surprised she didn't pull away when he reached for her hands. "I know. And I don't care. I don't care how far you are. I'm almost done with my classes here. I can transfer. And a hundred miles isn't that far. Not to me. You can make up whatever reasons you want Yumi, but if last night taught me anything, it's that I love you, and I don't want to let you go again. I was a stupid kid when we left Kadic. I should've fought for you then."

She smiled. "You're still a stupid kid."

"Do you want to be with me? Do you want to try to make this work?" She had come to him; that had to mean something. She didn't keep insisting that last night had been a mistake, either. Ulrich clung to that tiny bit of hope he had.

"I think so," she answered. "You've always been the more emotional one. I have to be level-headed… I have to think about the details, the distance, the—"

But Ulrich didn't let her finish. He pressed his lips against hers. After a surprised second, she returned the kiss, relaxing into his arms.

"This is crazy," she repeated, once they had broken apart.

"Maybe," he agreed, but he was suddenly ready to burst from happiness.

She smiled again, then looked past him to the bed. "You know the worst part?"

"Hmm?"

"I honestly don't remember most of it…" she confessed sadly.

Ulrich chuckled, overcome with a burst of silliness and courage he didn't know he possessed. "Then I guess we'll just have to do it again."

XXX


End file.
